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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wilbur-Creston Stays Alive B Volleyball

Annette Griffus Correspondent

If the third time is a charm, then Wilbur-Creston must be feeling pretty lucky.

For the third year in a row, the two-time defending champion Wildcats had to claw their way into the quarterfinals of the State B girls volleyball championships at Eastern Washington University Friday night.

Wilbur-Creston defeated the Kalama Chinooks 15-13, 15-4 in a rematch of last year’s title match. However, there was a tie in Pool C at 2-1 with Kalama, the Lopez Lobos, and the Wildcats. Wilbur-Creston got a bye into the three-way playoff that determined who advanced out of pool play.

The Wildcats watched Lopez beat Kalama 15-3. Wilbur-Creston then beat Lopez 15-12 to determine the top two seedings.

W-C lost its opener to Lopez 16-14, 7-15, 15-12, then defeated Evergreen Lutheran 15-12, 15-1.

“I think we were a little disappointed in our play in the first game,” said Wildcats coach Chuck Wyborney. “We know that we could have won that match and we wanted to play Lopez again.”

Wyborney said his team is getting back to the style of volleyball it played during the first half of the season and is pleased with the senior leadership on the team.

The Wildcats had a small scare when senior middle-hitter Mindy Bandy came down hard after a hit and twisted her ankle in the first game of the Kalama match. Bandy didn’t return until the Wildcats had built a 9-4 lead in the second game.

Bandy followed with an immediate kill and led the Wildcats on a six-point run to finish the match.

In Pool A action, the Pomeroy Pirates (3-0) lost one game all day, finishing as the top seed by defeating Manson 15-4, 14-16, 15-1. The Pirates easily handled South Bend 15-3, 15-5 and eventual second-seed Darrington (2-1) 15-1, 15-8.

The St.John-Endicott Eagles also went through the first day undefeated, defeating Lake Quinalt 15-7, 15-10, Ritzville 15-10, 12-15, 16-14, and La Conner 15-8, 15-3.

“This is probably the best we’ve played in a long time because we pushed and we were excited,” said Eagles coach Sandy Martin.

The Eagles came back to defeat district champion Ritzville after losing game one. In the second game, the Eagles led 10-5, but Ritzville pulled to within one, 11-10.

St.John-Endicott ended the Broncos’ rally by scoring three consecutive points to make it 14-10. Tricia Lamb’s serve for the Eagles and Ritzville’s missed block tied the match at 1-1. Ritzville stayed close in the final set as the Eagles led 7-6, 9-7 and 10-7.

The Broncos took the lead when sophomore middle-blocker Amy Fitch tipped the ball between two Eagles defenders to make the score 11-10. Ritzville pushed the score to 14-10 on St.John-Endicott’s unforced hitting errors.

After the Eagles regained serve, two winning points off serves by Lamb tied the game at 14 and, later, Lamb’s stuff block off Ritzville’s Katie Kirkendall gave the Eagles match point at 15-14. After Lamb returned to the serving position, the Eagles won when Ritzville’s service return went into the net.

In Pool D, last year’s third-place winner Toutle Lake came through unscathed, winning all its matches. Toutle defeated Clallum Bay 15-4, 15-6, and Wahluke 15-2, 15-7. The Fighting Ducks also beat second seed Davenport 16-14, 15-7.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Elite eight This morning’s pairings for the eight teams that advanced from pool play at the WIAA/Washington Dairy Farmers State B volleyball tournament: Darrrington vs. Toutle Lake Lopez vs. St. John Davenport vs. Pomeroy Ritzville vs. Wilbur-Creston

This sidebar appeared with the story: Elite eight This morning’s pairings for the eight teams that advanced from pool play at the WIAA/Washington Dairy Farmers State B volleyball tournament: Darrrington vs. Toutle Lake Lopez vs. St. John Davenport vs. Pomeroy Ritzville vs. Wilbur-Creston